Outboard spanning shouldered wickets

ABSTRACT

A shouldered wicket for holding a stack of flat flexible articles such as plastic packaging bags or sheets which are to be removed one at a time from the top of the stack, the shoulder portions of the wicket extending upwardly above the rest of the wicket to facilitate article removal from the wicketed stack and the horizontal bearing element of the wicket having a span greater than the linear distance between and across paired wicket holes in the stacked articles.

States Patent [1 1 Kupcikevieius 1 1 Nov.6,1973

[ OUTBOARD SPANNING SHOULDERED WICKETS [75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Union Carbide Corporation, New

York, NY.

221 Filed: Apr. 24, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 246,629

Vytautas Kupcikevicius, Chicago, Ill.

[52] [1.8. CI 211/57, 53/189, 206/57 A, 221/26 [51] Int. Cl B65h 3/58[58] Field of Search 211/57, 59, 54, 12, 211/89; 248/99, 100, 101;206/57 A; 221/26;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1895 Lynham 206/57 A 2/1907 Priddy 4/1967 Million...

3,412,522 11/1968 Schorer 53/189 3,454,166 7/1969 Dinges 211/573,490,195 1/1970 Abramson.... 53/189 3,538,671 11/1970 Wallace 53/189FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,915,119 10/1970 Germany 221/26 PrimaryExaminer-Marion Parsons, Jr. Att0rneyPaul A. Rose et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A shouldered wicket for holding a stack of flat flexiblearticles such as plastic packaging bags or sheets which are to beremoved one at a time from the top of the stack, the shoulder portionsof the wicket extending upwardly above the rest of the wicket tofacilitate article removal from the wicketed stack and the horizontalbearing element of the wicket having a span greater than the lineardistance between and across paired wicket holes in the stacked articles.

10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED am s 1975 SHEET 10F 4 PATENTEDNBYslam 3770.134

' SHEET REF 4 OUTBOARD SPANNING SHOULDERED WICKETS The present inventionrelates to wickets for holding stacked supplies of flat flexiblearticles which are to be dispensed or removed from the stacks eithermanually or automatically one at a time for utilization and moreparticularly to wickets for holding stacked supplies of flattenedflexible plastic packaging articles such as bags or wrapping sheets inreadiness for removal and use at industrial packaging stations.

It should be noted here that this application differs significantly fromthe copending application of Ericson et al., Ser. No. 246,6l3,which isbeing filed concurrently with this application and will be assigned tothe same assignee, in that the wickets described and claimed herein arepatentably distinct from those of Ericson et al., solve furtheradditional and different problems in the art and are discernablydifferent in structure operation and result.

Packaging operations in industry are of significant import and interesttowards promoting the rapid, efficient and economical packaging ofproducts for the market. Food packaging generally and the meat packingindustry in particular require additionally the strict maintenance ofsanitary conditions. Automatic or semiautomatic packaging techniqueshave been developed towards achievement of these desired goals.semiautomatic packing techniques, that is to say those requiring thecooperation of a human operator with a machine, are uniquely of interestto the meat packing industry since the products being packagedfrequently are not exactly alike as to size, shape and weight, acircumstance militating against fully automatic packing. To the extentthat food products, meat cuts and the like for example, are at leastsufficiently alike in size, shape and weight in a given series to permitthe use of packaging bags or wrapping sheets of the same size andmaterial, some degree of automation in the packaging operation ispossible. US. Pat. No. 3,552,090 to Roberts et al. and the copendingapplication of Kupcikevicius et al., Ser. No. 173,960, assigned to thesame assignee as this application are illustrative of such semiautomatictechniques and apparatus. To a much lesser degree, the automatic part ofa packaging process may take the form of relatively facile availabilityof one bag or wrapping sheet at a time from a bag supply source.

Here it should be noted that while the ensuing discussion treats ofpackaging bags towards illustrative simplification, this inventionapplies equally as well to stacked wicketed wrapping sheets and the likeand indeed more generally has full applicability to any stackedwicket-held flat flexible articles which are to be dispensed one at atime.

Whatever the degree of complexity of the apparatus and techniquesemployed in a packaging operation involving food, meat products inparticular, it is of the utmost importance that the supply of packagingbags be maintained in a sanitary condition and that the bag dispensingaction be accomplished with facility and without bag waste or theincidental production of torn bag scraps which interfere with smooth andefficient operation. While these desirable characteristics are veryimportant in even the simplest modes of semiautomatic packaging, theyare of much greater importance in the more fully automated modes such asfor instance those involving opening the bags one at a time with an airstream for insertion of a product unit into each bag sequentially. Inthese more automated techniques the relatively higher packaging speednecessitates a sanitary, continual and consistently reliable bag supplyarrangement and towards attaining these desiderata the wicket whichholds the stacked supply of bags in place on the apparatus or at thepackaging station is a significantly important element in the operation.Bags for such use, irrespective of the complexity of the particularpackaging technique, may be supplied to the user in bulk packages whichare opened and the bags loaded by hand into the bag dispensing stationor portion of the apparatus or in prewicketed packages such as describedin the copending application of Cwikla, Ser. No. 213,755, assigned tothe same assignee as this application.

The wickets, whether they are parts of an automatic packaging apparatusor simple bag supply holder device or are furnished along with thepackaged prewicketed bags, are as stated above, extremely importantelements in these packaging operations as will be readily appreciated bypersons familiar with the art.

Criteria for wicket design dictate that each bag in turn atop a stack ofwicketed bags at a packaging station must be readily removable withoutthe incidental production of bag scraps wnd with clean direct tearsthrough the bag material from the wicket holes to the outer open edge ofeach holed ply of the bag.

Known wickets used to hold stacked bag supplies in the aforedescribedmanner are best described as inverted U-shaped with the U having a flatbottom which, with the wicket in place, spans across the top bag of thestack along a line between the wicket holes to define a horizontalbearing member. This horizontal bearing member is caused, by one meansor another, to exert vertical downward bearing pressure on the stackedbags, keeping them substantially in registering relationship as betweenthemselves and with other functional elements at the packaging station.Such known wickets have presented difficulities in causing random tearswith consequent unuseable bags and in the unwanted production of bagscraps with attendant dangers of contamination of the articles beingpackaged. While the exact reasons for the faults of these known priorart wickets are not germane to the discussion here, the faultsthemselves being clearly manifest, it is thought that the pinchingaction on the bag stack at the interior right angles at the junctures ofthe wicket legs and the horizontal bearing member cause stresses andrestraint holding forces which exceed the elastic limits and tearresistance of the bags at'locations other than where the tears areintended during the action of pulling a bag from atop the stack. In anycase these problems exist and are real and very serious in industry.

One quickly suggested and initially apparently good solution which, uponinspection and test does not solve the problem, is to modify thehorizontal bearing member of the wicket to a raised or upwardly disposedarcuate form. This of course effects loss of the vertical downward stackrestraining pressure which is essential, particularly in semiautomaticor automatic operations, and also creates interference with insertioninto the still wicket-held bag of the article being packaged.Alternative suggested and tried solutions to the problems along theselines and along others as well, have been less than completelysuccessful with but one noteable exception, the shouldered wicketsdescribed in the copending application of Ericson et al., Ser. No.246,613, filed concurrently with this application and assigned to thesame assignee.

The shouldered wickets of Ericson et al., in their various embodiments,solve many of the problems discussed hereinabove in most normalutilizations and applications. In the present day packaging industryhowever, a significant trend towards the use of packaging bags ofthinner gauge materials is discerned, for the obvious reasons ofeffecting savings in materials, weight and costs. When the Ericson et alshouldered wickets are used in conjunction with stacked thin gaugeplastic packaging bags for instance, particularly in relatively highspeed semiautomatic packaging operations, it has been found that theoutermost edge of the bag ply restrainedly held by the wicket horizontalbearing member tends to curl up and wrap itself around the bearingmember during bag removal pulling action, causing myriad random stresseswhich result in unwanted tears, bag scrap production, unuseable bags andproduction downtime.

Thus while the Ericson et al. wickets make for a considerable andimportant advance in the art and are quite generally applicable in,packaging operations, many important technical problems remained, priorto the time of the present invention, unresolved.

With this then being the state of the art, the present invention wasconceived and reduced to practice, having as an object the provision ofa wicket to hold stacked flat flexible articles and to permit facile oneat a time removal of the articles from atop the stack without damage tothe articles.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a wicketwhich holds flattened stacked flexible packaging bags in place at apackaging station and permits the repetitive, rapid removal of bags oneat a time from atop the stack for use in packaging operations.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wicket whichis particularly suitable for use in conjunction with automatic andsemiautomatic packaging apparatus where the packaging operation proceedsat sustained relatively high speeds.

A still further and very important object is to achieve each and all ofthe aforerecited objects with wickets according to the present inventionin conjunction with thin gauge relatively fragile plastic and the likepackaging bags.

These and other objects of the invention will become the more readilyapparent from the ensuing description and the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. I is an isometric view showing a wicket embodiment according to theinvention in place on a stack of packaging bags.

FIG. 2 is a frontal view of an alternative embodiment of wicketaccording to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the FIG. 2 embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the FIG. 2 embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a frontal view of another alternative embodiment of wicketaccording to the invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the FIG. 5 embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the FIG. 5 embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of a bag stack showing the top bagrestrained edge areas using a FIG. 5 embodiment wicket.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view showing a FIG. 2 embodiment wicket in placeon a stack of packaging bags. 7

In general, the present invention comprehends a wicket for holding astack of flat flexible articles provided with paired holes toaccommodate wicket leg members, which articles are to be removed one ata time from the stack, said wicket comprising, in com bination; abearing member adapted to transmit a vertical restraining force incombination with an edge restrain ing member to said stack and having ahorizontally extending span greater than the linear distance between thepaired holes plus two hole diameters; an article edge restraining memberattached to and extending from said bearing member adapted to maintain aportion of an edge of each topmost article in the stack in asubstantially flat horizontal disposition as each successive topmostarticle is forcibly removed from the stack; wicket leg members extendingvertically each respectively through the holes in the stack of articles,adapted to hold individual articles therein in substantially registeringrelationship, said wicket leg members having ends adapted to extend intowicket mounting means and; upwardly extending shoulder members disposedbetween respective uppermost ends of said wicket leg portions and saidbearing member.

In one typical embodiment of apparatus according to the invention, anarticle edge restraining member is attached to and extends from eachouter end of the span of the bearing member and each shoulder membercomprises a first element extending upwardly from an article edgerestraining member, a second element connected to and extending upwardlyfrom an upper end of a leg member, and connecting means between thefirst element and the second element.

In another embodiment at least one article edge re straining member iscomprised in the bearing member and connected first and second elementsare provided similar to those described in the preceding paragraph.

In certain embodiments of apparatus according to the invention, one ormore article edge restraining members bear on the topmost article of thestack at loci other than a line between the paired holes.

In still other embodiments of the apparatus the article edge restrainingmember or members comprised in the bearing member and the bearing memberitself are adapted to bear on the topmost article of the stack for atotal distance less than the overall horizontal span of the bearingmember. a

Any and all of the embodiments of apparatus according to the presentinvention may be fabricated from rod-like stock elements, and, in mostinstances, advantageously may be connectedly and integrally formed froma unitary rod-like element.

With reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an isometric or perspectiveview of a wicket according to the present invention in place on a stackof flattened flexible plastic bags 11, with a topmost bag 13 of thestack opened, by an air stream for instance, and in readiness to receivean article to be packaged. The wicket shown comprises a bearing member15 which is adapted to transmit vertical restraining force to the bags11 and topmost bag 13. This vertical restraining force may be applied toor received by the bearing member 15 in any of several ways ranging fromsimply weighting the wicket to loading the member with downward pressurewith a pivotally cantilevered air nozzle of a machine such asillustrated in the Kupsikevicius application supra.

As shown in the drawing, the outermost edges of the lower ply of the bag13 are contacted and held down by edge restraining members l7, 19 whichtransmit the vertical restraining force not only to these edges of bag13, but to the entire stack of bags 11, holding them securely to awicket base 21. In the embodiment shown the edge restraining member 17,19 extend from respective ends of the horizontal bearing member 15.Wicket 23, members 23,25 extend vertically each respectively throughholes 27, 29 in the stacked bags and are mounted insertably in suitableholes in the wicket base 21, thus holding the stacked bags insubstantially registering relationship.

Upwardly extending shoulder members are disposed between the edgerestraining members 17, 19 and leg members 23, 23, each shoulder membercomprising, respectively, a first element 31, extending upwardly from anarticle edge restraining member, a second element 35, 37 extendingupwardly from the uppermost portion of each leg member 23, 25 andconnecting means 39, 41 joining respective first and second elements. Inthe illustrated embodiment, as in the case of practically all wicketsmade according to the present invention, all of the wicket members andelements are connectedly and integrally formed from a single piece ofsuitably heavy gage wire or rod stock, usually some kind of metal suchas steel.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings show a preferred form of wicketrespectively in frontal, side and top views wherein the wicketconfiguration is more rectangular and less arcuate. As shown in FIG. 4,the outermost edges of the lower ply of a top bag 113 of a stack of bags111 are contacted and held down by edge restraining members 117, 119which, as in the case of the aforedescribed FIG. 1 embodiment applyvertical restraining force not only to these edges of the topmost bag113, but to the entire stack of bags 111, holding them securely towhatever form of wicket base being used. The edge restraining members117,119 extend from respective ends of a horizontal bearing member 115.Wicket leg members 123,125 extend vertically each respectively throughholes 127,129 in the stacked bags and mount in a suitable wicket base.

The upwardly extending shoulder members in this embodiment are disposedbetween the edge restraining members 117,119 and the leg members123,125, each shoulder member comprising, respectively, a first element131,133 extending upwardly from an article edge restraining member, asecond element 135,137 extending upwardly from the uppermost portion ofeach leg member 123,125, and connecting means 139,141joining respectivefirst and second elements.

The FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 embodiments upon examination clearly illustratecertain major distinctions and advantages of the wickets according tothe present invention over the wickets of Ericson et al mentionedhereinbefore. The horizontal bearing member 15,115 of the presentinvention may if desired but need not bear on the bags at all but ratherfunction as means to transmit vertical restraining force to the bagstack through and in combination with one or more edge restrainingmembers. This feature permits great flexibility in using bags of varyingwidths, processed on the same hole making apparatus, with the same holespacings, in various semiautomatic packaging operations. Moreover, thelength of the horizontal bearing member 15,115 is selectable and thismakes wickets according to the present invention adaptable to a widerange of automatic and semiautomatic packaging machinery having varyingwidths of air nozzles and the like. Wickets according to the presentinvention then can be tailored to suit a wide range of applications.

Of greater significance is the operational result of freeing the bag andbag stack from direct or full bearing contact of the horizontal bearingmember, relying rather on the edge restraining members 17, 19, 117, 119to hold down the bag being filled in a manner which obviates unwantedbag edge curling and random tearing called chunking out. With knownwickets, when an operator inserts an article being packaged into the bagand applies the force necessary to remove the bagged article from themachine, the bag is first torn off from the wicket legs while the lowerply of the bag is still clamped under the horizontal bearing portion ofthe wicket, then, as the removal action proceeds the clamped ply ispulled out from under the wickets restraint. When, as frequentlyhappens, the tearing off from the wicket legs occasions some slightrandom side tearing, the wicket hole edges develop perimetric stressconcentrations at the wrong places and chunking out occurs. In usingwickets according to the present invention, this problem is eliminated,since the filled bag is either fully free or substantially free ofvertical restraint clamping action of the wicket by the time it is tornoff from the wicket legs in the course of each sequential bag removalstep. Thus the major clamping force which holds the bag in position forarticle insertion is relieved before tear-off of the bag from the wicketlegs is started and clean, scrap free removals are attained.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings show, respectively, frontal, side andtop views of still another alternative embodiment of wicket according tothe invention wherein all of the members and elements as shown 215, 217,219, 223, 225, 231, 233, 235, 237, [239] and 241 are cooperativelyarranged as in the first described FIG. 1 embodiment and, in addition,an edge restraining member 217a is included and functions as hereinabovedescribed in respect of the FIGS. 2, 3, 4 embodiment.

FIG. 8 of the drawings shows in schematic plan view the bearing areas217, 217a and 219 on the upper surface of the lower ply of a topmost bag213 of a stack of bags 211 according to the manner occasioned in the useofa FIG. 5, 6, 7 embodiment wicket and illustrates clearly the advantagein bag restraining mode made possible by the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows isometrically a FIG. 2,3,4 wicket embodiment in position ona stack of bags unpacked from shipment and ready to be installed at abagging station. A wicket leg keeper 124 is provided as shown to keepthe bags on the wicket during shipment and handling.

Of the embodiments discussed, the FIG. 2 embodiment is preferred andwickets of this type have been made of selected steel wire rod stock andtested with consistently acceptable results.

Variations on the aforedescribed wicket embodiments are possible. Forexample, an edge restraining member may take the form of a projectingrod or the like, welded or otherwise attached to or formed integrallywith the horizontal bearing member 15,115. There may also be more thanone edge restraining member so projecting from the horizontal bearingmember 15,115 at desired points. It may also be advantageous in someinstances to direct the projection of the edge restraining member ormembers outwardly of the bag opening, presupposing of course, that thebag open ends are oriented relative to the wicket a bit differently thanshown so that the bag edges to be restrained would come under the edgerestraining memher or members in such circumstances.

Other alternative forms of wickets according to and within the scope ofthis invention will, in the light of this disclosure, undoubtedly occurto persons familiar with the art. It is therefore intended that theforegoing discussion be considered illustrative only and not construedin any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A wicket for holding a stack of flat flexible articles provided withpaired holes to accommodate wicket leg members, which articles are to beremoved one at a time from the stack, said wicket comprising, incombination,

a. a bearing member adapted to transmit a vertical restraining force incombination with an edge restraining member to said stack and having ahorizontally extending span greater than the linear distance between thepaired holes plus two hole diameters,

b. an article edge restraining member attached to and extending fromsaid bearing member adapted to maintain a portion of an edge of eachtopmost article in the stack in a substantially flat horizontaldisposition as each successive topmost article is forcibly removed fromthe stack,

c. wicket leg members extending vertically each respectively through theholes in the stack of articles, adapted to hold individual articlestherein in substantially registering relationship, said wicket legmembers having ends adapted to extend into wicket mounting means and,

d. upwardly extending shoulder members disposed between respectiveuppermost ends of said wicket leg portions and said bearing member,

2. A wicket according to claim 1 wherein an article edge restrainingmember is attached to and extends from each outer end of the span of thebearing member and each shoulder member comprises a first elementextending upwardly from an article edge restraining member, a secondelement connected to and extending upwardly from an upper end of a legmember, and connecting means between the first element and the secondelement.

3. A wicket according to claim 1 wherein at least one article edgerestraining member is comprised in the bearing member and each shouldermember comprises a first element connected to and extending upwardlyfrom an end of the bearing member, a second element connected to andextending upwardly from an upper end of a leg member, and connectingmeans between the first element and the second element.

4. A wicket according to claim 2 wherein each said article edgerestraining member bears on the topmost article of the stack at lociother than a line between the paired holes.

5. A wicket according to claim 3 wherein each said article edgerestraining member comprised in the hearing member and the bearingmember are adapted to bear on the topmost article of the stack for atotal distance less than the overall horizontal span of the bearingmember.

6. A wicket according to claim 1 wherein the bearing member, the legmembers and the shoulder members are connectedly and integrally formedfrom a unitary rod-like element.

7. A wicket according to claim 2 wherein the bearing member, the articleedge restraining members, the leg members and the shoulder members areconnectedly and integrally formed from a unitary rod-like element.

8. A wicket according to claim 3 wherein the bearing member, the articleedge restraining member, the leg members and the shoulder members areconectedly and integrally formed from a unitary rod-like element.

9. A wicket according to claim 4 wherein the bearing member, the articleedge restraining members, the leg members and the shoulder members areconectedly and integrally formed from a unitary rod-like element.

10. A wicket according to claim 5 wherein the hearing member, thearticle edge restraining member, the leg members and the shouldermembers are conectedly and integrally formed from a unitary rod-likeelement. =3

1. A wicket for holding a stack of flat flexible articles provided withpaired holes to accommodate wicket leg members, which articles are to beremoved one at a time from the stack, said wicket comprising, incombination, a. a bearing member adapted to transmit a verticalrestraining force in combination with an edge restraining member to saidstack and having a horizontally extending span greater than the lineardistance between the paired holes plus two hole diameters, b. an articleedge restraining member attached to and extending from said bearingmember adapted to maintain a portion of an edge of each topmost articlein the stack in a substantially flat horizontal disposition as eachsuccessive topmost article is forcibly removed from the stack, c. wicketleg members extending vertically each respectively through the holes inthe stack of articles, adapted to hold individual articles therein insubstantially registering relationship, said wicket leg members havingends adapted to extend into wicket mounting means and, d. upwardlyextending shoulder members disposed between respective uppermost ends ofsaid wicket leg portions and said bearing member,
 2. A wicket accordingto claim 1 wherein an article edge restraining member is attached to andextends from each outer end of the span of the bearing member and eachshoulder member comprises a first element extending upwardly from anarticle edge restraining member, a second element connected to andextending upwardly from an upper end of a leg member, and connectingmeans between the first element and the second element.
 3. A wicketaccording to claim 1 wherein at least one article edge restrainingmember is comprised in the bearing member and each shoulder membercomprises a first element connected to and extending upwardly from anend of the bearing member, a second element connected to and extendingupwardly from an upper end of a leg member, and connecting means betweenthe first element and the second element.
 4. A wicket according to claim2 wherein each said article edge restraining member bears on the topmostarticle of the stack at loci other than a line between the paired holes.5. A wicket according to claim 3 wherein each said article edgerestraining member comprised in the bearing member and the bearingmember are adapted to bear on the topmost article of the stack for atotal distance less than the overall horizontal span of the bearingmember.
 6. A wicket according to claim 1 wherein the bearing member, theleg members and the shoulder members are connectedly and integrallyformed from a unitary rod-like element.
 7. A wicket according to claim 2wherein the bearing member, the article edge restraining members, theleg members and the shoulder members are connectedly and integrallyformed from a unitary rod-like element.
 8. A wicket according to claim 3wherein the bearing member, the article edge restraining member, the legmembers and the shoulder members are conectedly and integrally formedfrom a unitary rod-like element.
 9. A wicket according to claim 4wherein the bearing member, the article edge restraining members, theleg members and the shoulder members are conectedly and integrallyformed from a unitary rod-like element.
 10. A wicket according to claim5 wherein the bearing member, the article edge restraining member, theleg members and the shoulder members are conectedly and integrallyformed from a unitary rod-like element.